The present invention is generally related to the fields of data communications and customer contact management, and, more particularly, is related to a system and method for storing, routing, and tracking digitally encoded (digital) documents in a call center.
Many companies, governmental agencies, and other organizations provide various support functions relative to their activities. For example, companies typically sell products or services to consumers or other entities that require continued support by a company to facilitate the effective use of the product or service by the consumer. Likewise, governmental agencies or other similar organizations may have to provide instructions to citizens who seek to satisfy their obligations to the organizations. These support functions often result in a centralized or distributed support organization that can be contacted by consumers who seek help with regard to the product or service in question.
These centralized and distributed support organizations may often be established as a call center. A call center may include a number of agents who are linked via a private telephone network or private exchange that will handle multiple calls from various consumers and answer questions and provide service and support. Typically, these agents record the nature and substance of their activities with regard to individual consumers to create a record of the exchange for legal purposes and for other reasons.
In addition, data processing systems and computer networks are employed in call centers to aid in the exchanges between the agents and the consumers. For example, there is a desire in many call centers that the same agent handle repeated calls by the same consumer so that the agent can most efficiently handle a problem since the agents is aware of the call history. Such processing systems and computer networks facilitate maintenance of a record of all calls from a particular consumer on the database, for example, so that those records can be easily recalled and examined by the agent in question or can be examined by new agent who can then be appraised of a particular ongoing crisis or problem. The data processing systems and computer networks may also facilitate displaying the records of a particular consumer on a screen of an agent that deals with the particular consumer.
Call centers have also embraced the use of electronic mail and other forms of data communication such as facsimile machines, etc., that provide multiple means of communication between the consumer and the agent to achieve the support functions of the call center. In particular, such communication media provide a significant advantage in that an agent may be provided with documents and the like from a consumer relative to a problem to be resolved. However, the use of these multiple means of communication has saddled call centers with the problem of ensuring that electronic mail messages, facsimiles, and other documents in electronic form or hardcopy are routed to the proper agent in the call center in association with a particular consumer concern, etc.
In particular, currently it is possible that documents received by facsimile, for example, may not reach the appropriate agent at all. For example, facsimile messages received via facsimile machines that are employed by multiple agents may be lost or physically routed to the wrong agent. Electronic mail messages may arrive at a call center with no indication as to the particular agent to whom it should be routed.
It is desirable that all communication from a consumer to an agent whether it be a facsimile, electronic mail, or otherwise be routed to the proper agent quickly and efficiently. This is to ensure that all consumer concerns are addressed quickly so that consumers are not discouraged from obtaining the needed service and support because of an unnecessarily prolonged experience due to lost documents, etc.
In light of the foregoing, the present invention entails a system and method for tracking, routing, and storing a number of digital documents in a call center. In one embodiment, the system includes a customer contact management server that is part of a network in a call center. The customer contact management server includes a processor coupled to a local interface and a memory coupled to the local interface. Stored on the memory is document tracking logic that is executed by the processor to perform the functions of tracking, routing and storing the digital documents. In one embodiment, the document tracking logic comprises contact management logic to generate a contact record associated with a digital document and to store the contact record on a contact database. The document tracking logic also includes resource management logic to identify a routing designation on the digital document, and scheduling logic to transmit the digital document to a destination based upon the routing designation.
The present invention may also be viewed as a method for tracking and routing a number of digital documents in a call center, comprising the steps of: generating a contact record associated with a digital document and storing the contact record on a contact database; identifying a routing designation on the digital document; and transmitting the digital document to a destination based upon the routing designation.